need
by indecisive Stargazer
Summary: Even if Dave already had a lot on his plate, he wouldn't let John down. Because John needed him, he needed his best friend Dave Strider.


**Pairing:** implied Dave Strider x John Egbert  
**Word Count:** 699  
**Authors Notes: **Done for a homestuck fic trade thing on 4/13. I hope you all enjoy this horrible _thing_, whatever it is. In other words though, I'm surprised that most of my posts have been either Homestuck of Yaoi/Shounen-Ai. ahcfdskcdnkvf..

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_"I have become so tired of this loneliness..."_

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Dave didn't have a guardian that was attentive and caring like John's Dad , instead, he had Bro. Bro was a fucking rubix cube to Dave; impossible to figure out and read. While the 13-year-old knew — or rather assumed — that his guardian cared for him, the older male didn't bother to show it. Bro was the type of guardian that, when you fell down, would stand back and give a nod of his head as a sign to get back up. And, Dave found that as he got older, Bro wasn't there as much as he use to be. A lot of the time he found himself alone in their apartment with Cal and those god forsaken smuppets, not that he hated Cal's company (the smuppets on the other hand was another story), it's just that the little guy wasn't even there at times himself. He didn't resent Bro, however, for the lack of attention. He knew this was just his way of raising him, showing him how to be more independent earlier than most kids. Dave didn't mind it either, after all, having the apartment to yourself while throwing down some sick beats was pretty sweet. Sometimes, though, when he would take a break from all of those sick beats and just found himself chilling on the couch in the silence of his home, he would feel a knot begin to form in his gut. A feeling he found that simply to think of was displeasing in itself. At first, Dave didn't know what it was. Though when Bro left, when he was gone, he seemed to finally figured out what it was;

_loneliness._

When Jack offed his Bro, the awkward yet sincere consolidation of Jade wasn't enough. While he didn't show it, Dave himself was dying inside and could feel that knot grow bigger and bigger with each step he took. There was just something about seeing his brother with his own sword plunged into his chest that practically terrified Dave. But, who could blame him? Bro was his idol, his guardian, his friend and silent confidante all in one, and now he was just... _gone. _And if Bro couldn't beat Jack, what chance did Dave even have? He may have been the Knight of Time, but there was only so much he could.

Bringing Bro back was was once such thing he couldn't do.

Dave's need for his brother from the silent loneliness made his chest ache with every breathe. There was an emptiness he didn't know what to do with. He soon found however, that talking to John helped, even if only a little. Dave felt that as each conversation the two began and ended, he would always feel a little better, despite John's obliviousness and awkward yet humorous personality. But, there was something about John that pulled a few strings here and there from Dave. Hell, he wasn't even too sure what kind of strings he was pulling exactly! All he knew though, was that John cared and with everything that was on their plates from fucking Sburb, to trolls, and Jack Noir is that right now, _right then_, was the time that John needed his best friend the most.

At first Dave wasn't all too sure of himself. But he found that the emptiness soon vanished and was replaced with something whole. Something that refreshed Strider with a whole new resolve that made everything hurt a little less. Even Bro's death didn't seem so painful. Maybe it was the need to stand strong for John's sake that brought back the old self-assured, cool, Dave Strider back. His irony even hit its regular pace in his speech and typing patterns. For God knew that John Egbert definitely wasn't the ideal fearless leader that everyone had in mind. But, right now Dave couldn't afford to let him down. He promised — no, he _knew _— that he wouldn't let him down. He knew that he wouldn't go out the way his Bro did or that he would let John slip away from him.

Because even more important to Dave than John needing him was the lone fact that... well...

Dave needed John too.


End file.
